Apparatus for treating materials



Jan. 25, 1938. E. J. scoTT APPARATUS FOR TREATING MATERIALS Original Filed May 25, 1927 Patented Jan. 25, 1938 UNITED STATES YPAATENT OFFICE.

APPARATUS FOR TREATING MATERIALS Ephriam J. Scott, Forest Hills, Masa, minor to C. C. H. Thomas I Application May 25, 1927, Serial No. 194,018 Renewed March 21, 1938 7 Claims.

This invention relates to improvements in the manufacture of building elements of concrete and other materials and more particularly the invention appertains to an improved method and means for intermixing, writing, and compacting the ingredients of the material.

The object of the invention is to provide a method and means of the above nature characterized by simplicity in character and efiiciency in operation and by which the product obtained is superior both as respects strength, and uniformity.

My invention, in its preferred form, involves subjecting the mixture to a rapid and vigorous vibration so that the ingredients are thoroughly intermixed, united and compacted and the product obtained is of high strength, and uniformity. I am aware that it has been proposed to use vibration in the moulding of the ingredients of building materials such as concrete, but in all methods and apparatuses employed hitherfore, so far as I am aware, the speed of vibration has not been vigorous and the resulting product has not had any great strength or compactness. Moreover, in the vibrating processes and apparatuses hitherto used, the result of the action to which the mixture has been subjected is to cause the material to settle, the smaller particles to congregate at the bottom so that the product is nonuniform and the ingredients unevenly distributed therethrough.

According to my invention, I subject the mixture to a very rapid and vigorous vibration to obtain a product of great strength, and compactness, and employ a vibrating movement that tends to maintain the various ingredients evenly distributed throughout the mixture.

In order to obtain the rapid and vigorous vibration necessary to secure the desired qualities in the product. I preferably support the mold or other supporting member (in or on which the mixture is vibrated) for free movement and to this end I employ a yielding 0r floating support which permits the supporting member to be vibrated very rapidly and without any substantial resistance to the vibration.

The yielding support also acts as a shock absorber and prevents the transmission of the vibrations of the vibrating member to the frame. thereby lessening the wear and deterioration on the machine arising from the vibrations. The yielding support also provides a construction in which the power loss is minimized, which requires a, minimum amount of power for operation and which has a very high efliciency.

While my process may be practised with any suitable vibrating means, I prefer to vibrate the mixture orbitally in a vertical path. Such vibrating movement serves to roll the particles or ingredients on one another in a general orbitaldirection and in a vertical plane and this rolling of the particles, augmented by the frictional action of the walls of the mold in forcing and pounding the particles together'serves to thoroughly unite and compact the particles and impart to the mixture the necessary compactness and distribution of the ingredients to obtain the qualities of high strength and uniformity.

For the purpose of illustrating my invention I have shown the same embodied in a specific apparatus but it will be understood that the apparatus disclosed is merely for the purpose of illustration and that my invention is not to be considered as confined to any details shown.

In the drawing: Figure 1 is an end elevational view of an appa ratus constructed in accordance with my invention;

Figure 2 is a side elevational view of this apparatus, showing the preferred form of the vibrating means in section; and I Figure 3 is an end elevational view of said vibrating means.

Referring now more particularly to the drawing which shows by way of example and illustration the preferred embodiment of this invention and to the details of which I do not intend to be confined, the invention is exemplified in an apparatus which comprises a mold or other supporting member l0 where the ingredients of the 1 mixture or the previously mixed material are adapted to be placed and vibrated. It will be understood that this invention is not confined to vibrating the mixture within a mold, that the. mixture may be placed in or on any member, whether, a mold, table, or other supporting member and vibrated. The supporting member In is designed to be vibrated at a very rapid speed and in order to permit such rapid vibration it is adapted for free movement and is pref erably yieldingly and fioatingly mounted by means of resilient members or springs H on the frame I2 of the apparatus. The supporting member may take any preferred or desired form but for the purpose of illustration I have shown it in the form of a mold adapted directly for the formation of a hollow concrete building unit such as is now quite frequently employed in building constructions. The bottom of the mold is closed by means of a pallet l3 on top of which the mixture is adapted to..be placed or poured, the pal- The vibration is such asto slide and roll the ingredients of the mixture on and against one let being held in position by a bar II or similar means.

While the vibrating means may take any suitable form and be of any desired character without departing from the invention, I have shown the apparatus equipped with a vibrating means which comprises a shaft It carried on bearings ll attached to the side of the mold box to impart vibration to the mold by the application of force upon the side face of the mold. The shaft II is adapted to be rotated at a rapid speed by any suitable or desired means and for this purpose may have a pulley II which is driven by a belt II from any suitable source. On the shaft l5 and preferably on each end thereof, I dispose a vibrating member which comprises a disc if having a weight 20 at a point at its periphery, the

disc being keyed or otherwise secured to the shaft ll so as to rotate therewith. Loosely mounted on the shaft I! and in proximity to the discs are arms 2| having weights 22 at their free ends. These arms are adapted to be adjustably positioned with respect to the discs and to this end each arm is provided with a slot through which extends a pin or similar member 22. Each disc has a plurality of slots 24 arranged in a general circular direction and into which the pins 23 may extend, so that the arms 2i are adapted to be adjusted and coupled to the discs in various adjusted positions. preferably disposed tangentially or with their long axes perpendicular to the radii intersecting their centers,"while the ends of the pins have headed members 25. The headed members are elongated to permit their passage through the slots when the axes of the headed members are coincident with the axes of the slots, and when the pins are turned the headed members lock them against movement longitudinally. The

headed members are heavier on one side of the pins than at the other and when the shaft is rotating centrifugal force throws the heavier sides radially outward, whereby the pins are locked at all times during rotation of the shaft. In order to change the positions of the arms relative to the discs, it is only necessary to take out ,the ,pins 24 in which,case the arms 2| are adapted to be easily rotated on the shaft i5 and may be coupled to the discs by inserting the pins through the slots in the arm and through any desired slots in the discs.

The vibration of the supporting member or 'mold III is obtained by reason of the dynamic forces setup by revolution of the weighted members 20 and 22 which are communicated to the mold through the bearings of the shaft l5. These weighted members are of approximately the same weight and the maximum vibration occurs when they are both on the same side of the shaft i5 and abutting one another. The amount of vibration may be reduced, however, by adjusting the arm 2| to reduce the unbalanced weight on one side of the shaft, i5, and it is apparent that when the weight 22 is diametrically opposite the weight 20, a balanced condition prevails in which no vibration occurs. The amplitude of vibration may thus be varied by adjusting the position of the arms 2| as above explained with respect to the discs.

The vibrating movement of the mold member follows an orbital path in a substantially vertical plane. This movement of the mold member causes thorough moulding, uniting, and compacting of the ingredients composing the mixture.

The slots in the discs are another and force and pound them against the sidu of the mold so that they are thoroughly intermixed and united. Furthermore by reason of the fact that settling is largely prohibited by the character of the vibration the resulting product has great uniformity. As above pointed out, the vibration is very vigorous and rapid and consequently the ingredients of the mixture are thoroughl y compacted during the operation and'as will more clearly appear hereafter, a superior product for a given composition or consistency is obtained particularly where the material operated on is semi-liquid or damp, such as concrete.

After the material has been vigorously shaken and vibrated so that the ingredients and particles have been thoroughly mixed, the product is separated from-its lateral support or the lateral support is removed. While this result may be obtained in any desired way, in the apparatus, I have shown it is derived by lifting up and electing the pallet, II. The means whereby this pal let may be lifted and elected preferably includes a movable member 28 from which rods, 21, project upwardly through guides 22 carried by the frame i2 of the apparatus. The movable member 2| is preferably provided with rollers 2! bearing and supported on the surfaces of cams 3. carried on a shaft ll which extends horizontally through and is supported in the frame of the machine. The shaft II is adapted to be rotated and to this end a lever arm 32 is provided. When rotated, the earns 30 raise or elevate the movable member 2! withthe result that the top ends of the members 21 strike the pallet l3 and elect it out of the mold I. This election of L course occursafter the mixture has been sumciently vibrated and compacted.

This apparatus is particularly designed for uniting and compacting the ingredients of semiliquid, plastic, and semi-plastic or damp materials such as concrete. A characteristic feature of the invention is the extreme intimacy with which the particles are interlocked and interconnected. In the case of concrete, the invention has peculiar advantages both when applied to a mix of wet consistency and to mix of dry or damp consistency and covers a wide. range of consistency in its possible application. The lateral support, may be removed immediately from a mix of wet or mushy consistency after vibration and prior to any set in the material without substantially any slumping in the product occurring. Never,

prior to my invention has a concrete mix of such higher. A mix of dry or damp consistency when molded by vibration according to my invention also retains its molded shape upon immediate removal of the lateral support after vibration. A dry or damp mix characterized by substantially zero or negative slump has never, prior to my invention, been molded into shape by vibration without the material being so loosely united that the product disintegrates upon immediate removal of the lateral support prior to any set in ii anoaaao the concrete. By reason of the rapid and vigorous vibration, my invention when applied to a dry or damp mix of the above character so interlocks and unites the particles that no disintegration of the product occurs upon its immediate withdrawal from the mold after vibration.

A further and important characteristic of my invention is the great strength obtained in the concrete product. For any given proportions of ingredients there is obtained by my process a concrete product of greater strength than any concrete product using the same proportions. Concrete includes three main ingredients, namely, cement, water, and aggregate. For given materials, the strength of concrete is determined solely by the ratio of the volume of mixing water to the volume of cement so long as the mixture is plastic and workable. By my invention I am enabled to form a concrete product with less water than hitherto required for the same set of materials. Thus, because of the fact that I use less water, I obtain a product of greater strength than any product hitherto obtained using the same set of materials. This is particularly by reason of the fact that my process enables me to work or mould the material in a less plastic state. By virtue of my invention I am also enabled to form a product with more aggregate for a given amount of cement and water than has hitherto been moldable by vibration. Thus with my apparatus a product may be obtained having the proportions of one part ccment to one or more parts of aggregate with water not to exceed an amount which will cause a slump of one-half an inch when subjected to a slump test in a hollow truncated cone having a base of six inches, a top of three inches, and a height of twelve inches. Such concrete has never before been moulded by vibration.

It is desirable when the product is being ejected out of the mold box to vibrate the latter slightly to loosen the material from the interior sides of the mold and to allow ejection more freely and with less resistance by friction and consequently with less consumption of power as well as less danger of spoiling or distorting.

While my invention is particularly applicable to molding concrete and allied materials, I consider that it may be applied to other uses and for other purposes. For example, features of the invention may be employed in vibrating molds in foundries and the like. Other uses and applications of the invention will be apparent and will readily occur to those skilled in the various arts.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:-

1. An apparatus for treating a material com ejecting the product from the mold after vibration.

2. An apparatus for treating a material comprising a mold for the material having open top and bottom, a pallet positioned in said mold for vertical movement and providing a bottom therefor and a carrying platform for the material. a frame, resilient means on said frame for supporting said mold, means for vibrating the mold, and means adapted for cooperation with the bottom of the pallet for pushing said pallet upwardly through said mold to eject the material carried thereby.

3. An apparatus for treating a material comprising a frame, a mold for the material having open top and bottom, resilient means supporting said mold by and above said frame, a pallet positioned in said mold for vertical movement and providing a bottom therefor and a carrying platform for the material, means-for vibrating the mold, and means associated with the frame adapted for, cooperation with the bottom of the pallet for pushing said pallet upwardly through said mold to eject the material carried thereby.

4. An apparatus for treating a material comprising a frame, a mold for the material having open top and bottom, resilient means supporting said mold by and above said frame, a pallet positioned in said mold for vertical movement and providing a bottom therefor and a carrying platform for the material, bearings carried on a side of the mold, a rotating shaft in said bearings, an unbalanced weighted member carried by and rotating with the shaft, and means adapted for cooperation with the bottom of the pallet for pushing said pallet upwardly through said mold to eject the material'carried thereby.

5. Molding apparatus comprising a mold, a plurality of resilient supports for the mold, said supports being substantially C-shaped, and means for vibrating the mold.

6. In apparatus for the molding of plastic materials like concrete, a mold for receiving the material, a supporting frame, a resilient means interposed between the mold and the frame 4 the frame whereby the mold can be vibrated substantially independently of the frame, a pallet positioned in the mold and forming a bottom carrying platform for material introduced therein, means for applying vibratory movement to the mold, and means mounted on the frame for elevating the pallet relative to the mold to eject a formed mass of the material.

EPHRIAM J. SCOTT. 

